Playcenters are used to entertain babies, primarily, although not exclusively, babies who have not, as yet, developed the ability to crawl. They are intended to appeal to a baby's visual and tactile senses. They sometimes include sound emitting objects, which appeal to a baby's auditory senses. Those portions of the playcenters that may be placed in a baby's mouth, must be incapable of being swallowed or otherwise harming the baby.
Most playcenters consist of rigid polymer plastic housings that are intended to be secured together to form a suspended play area which is placed over a recumbent baby. They have a number of inherent drawbacks. They require assembly and disassembly and, as such, are not readily transportable to locations outside the home. They are bulky and hard to carry. They take time to set up. Children can be hurt by inadvertent impact with the rigid polymer plastic housing.